5 Years with Him
by EmiMusicalnerd
Summary: Avenue Q, Rod/NickyUm.... kinda a AU, which is like 'what if Nicky was gay, and went out with Rod' and explores their relationship. T for language and sexual mentions. I suck at summarys- I promise the story is better than what it seems like.


Okay, so it's a _little_ late for Valentines Day, I'm sorry. I have exams coming up, so I've been revising like WOAH.  
Before I start, I want to dedicate this story to _my _uni. Love you still pookie.  
BONUS POINTS IF YOU GET MUSICAL REFERENCES!!! (I can't help it, I'm sorry!)  
The style was ripped of Last 5 Years, yeah…. And it's a bit long, I'm sorry  
Legal crap: Q belongs to Bobby Lopez, Jeff Marx and Jeff Whitty. Not me. I just steal the characters for my own devious ways.   
And now, on with the story!

Well, this is it…the first date……everything would now be decided on this one evening…so, it'd better go well! And, if you're going to succeed, as he always said, you'd better look good!

So, that, was why, half an hour before the reservation at Camerino's, the poshest Italian this side of New York, Rod was searching his apartment, looking for his hair gel. It has to be round here SOMEWHERE…….erm…. BEDROOM! He sprinted across the hall to his bedroom, glanced across the room, no, not there. Fuck. He couldn't go out looking like THIS, his hair was all messed up, he was out of breath because he had been searching for the past 10 minutes, and he couldn't find it ANYWHERE, and because he had been running, he now had a SWEAT PATCH under his armpits. Ew. Great, now he had to change. But first…finding the hair gel…

He sat down on his bed, and tried to calm down and just think, rather than messing up his hair even more by running around like a mad loony…okay, where had he last used it? Erm………yesterday, getting ready for work…he had woke up late, because his alarm didn't go off, so he was multitasking, eating breakfast and…DOING HIS HAIR! He ran straight into the kitchen, and THERE IT WAS! On the side. Thank the big fat pink and glittery lesbian god in the sky!! He picked it up, and tried to unscrew it…oh fuck. Now he couldn't OPEN it! ARGH! He put the jar in between his thighs, grabbed the lid with both hands and tried to twist it off…come on! He grunted, and used all of his, albeit not much-he was quite weak, strength to try and prise open the lid…just a liiiiiiittle bit-THERE WE GO! He put it back on the side, and started to gel his hair in his reflection on the oven.

Rod was drumming his fingers on the table, glancing at the clock, the queue at the door, and then his watch, which he had repeatedly been doing for the past twenty minutes, whilst downing three glasses of water like it was going out of style. He was desperate for the toilet, but he daren't leave his seat, in case Nicky showed up …. the date was at 8, it was now around half past, and Nicky wasn't there. He was starting to get pitying glances from the waiters, and it was becoming very awkward. But surely Nicky wouldn't have stood him up... He had seemed so excited when Rod asked him out… but then why wasn't he here? Surely if he was late, he would have rang to tell him…. Resigning himself to the fact that he had been stood up, Rod stood up and began to walk out, when just as he was grabbing his coat from the wardrobe just by the door, he seen Nicky walking casually up the pavement towards the restaurant. Oh, he looked an absolute angel in his scruffy shirt and jeans.  
'Cutting it a bit fine, aren't you?' He asked, walking out of the restaurant to meet him, and leaning against a lamppost, before realizing somebody had probably thrown up and/or peed on it at the same time, so standing upright rather suddenly, and also sounding a bit more jovial than he'd liked. He was supposed to be pissed off; Nicky was half an hour late!  
'What, it's only…… exactly 22 minutes to 9! I'm 3 minutes late! Jeez, was that all you were going to wait for me- 3 minutes?' Nicky looked a bit dejected, as he scuffed his feet on the floor, while Rod grinned inwardly. Oh, he looked so adorable…  
'No… the date was at 8. You're now… 35 minutes late.' He laughed. DAMMIT. BE ANGRY. ANGRY. THIRTY FIVE MINUTES LATE. Oh, but he was so adorable with that cute poke-able nose, and the confused look on his fa- THIRTY FIVE MINUTES LATE!!!  
'Oh. I'm sorry….. I thought it at half 8.' He said as he gazed up at Rod, melting any thoughts of being angry with his big brown chocolate eyes. '…. I didn't know we were going here… it's a bit posh, isn't it? I thought we might just be going for some spaghetti or something… I'm not dressed for this place… would they even let me in?' Nicky muttered, as he fiddled with his shirt, trying to make it appear neater.  
'Listen, the guy at the door is gay, just bat your beautiful brown eyes at him, and he'll let you in, no problem. Maybe make references to your large… erm... package…too.' Rod said, while going an unattractive shade of white, as he realized what he was saying.  
NO! GAH! FIRST DATE. FIRST DATE, NOT GOOD! STOP TALKING ABOUT HIS… PACKAGE, AND DID YOU JUST CALL HIS EYES BEAUTIFUL? SO WHAT IF THEY ARE, DON'T MENTION IT ON THE **FIRST DATE**, DUMBASS!!  
'Did you just mention my large package?? I mean, I know it's big, but can you really see it from there?' Nicky grinned, as he walked towards the door of the restaurant.  
'I…I…um… I mean… um….. er…' Rod stuttered, as he blushed a light purple colour, and followed Nicky into the restaurant, making a mental note never to talk again. Ever.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rod grabbed a box from the back of his car (Nicky didn't have one, so he had to lend Nicky his car) which had some form of writing on the side of the box facing him, but he couldn't read what it said- Nicky's handwriting was a lazy scrawl, unlike Rod's neat perfectly formed lettering…. Talking about Nicky, where was he? HE should be the one unpacking.  
'Nicky?' He called; looking around, box still clutched in his hands.  
'Mmmhmmm?' Nicky cried, his voice coming from the front of the car. 'I'm just admiring your car, I'll be out in a minute!' Rod sighed, and carried the box in his arms to his front door. He put the box down next to the door, and stood up to get the rest of the boxes from out of his car.  
'AHHH! NICKY!' He cried, as Nicky suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. He spun himself around, and looked into Nicky's adorable green grin 'Don't _DO_ that to me!' He said, trying to stop his heart from racing, from both the scare he had just had, and the fact that he was basically toe-to-toe with Nicky. God, he STILL did this to him, after a year! Nicky grinned even more at the sight of Rod slightly blushing  
'Scared Ya!' He cried, 'I thought you were meant to be helping me with my large package!!'  
Oh god… Rod blushed a furious shade of purple. WHYYY did he have to say that on the first date?  
'You're never going to let me forget that, are you?' He muttered, his head in his hands from the shame.  
'Nope!' He sang, as he kissed Rod on the cheek. 'Come on then! Am I moving in then or not?'  
Rod turned back around to face the door, and fumbled with his keys as he took them out of his jacket, and unlocked the door.  
He stepped in, and as Nicky followed him, he let a gasp… Rod couldn't tell if it was a gasp of excitement, shock, horror or nervousness…. It wasn't that messy… sure, there were a couple of glasses out, and a few CD's were out of place… crap, there were some crisp crumbs on the floor... Oh crap! AHH! It was so messy!   
Nicky was in awe… 'Are you always this….' Dirty? Messy? Slobbish? Filthy? '… Tidy and CLEAN?' Rod gave a laugh, 'Yes… You've been here before, haven't you noticed?'  
Nicky looked around, and had his usual look of laughter on his face 'I've always been too drunk or too preoccupied with something else too notice how clean it is!' And then Nicky sauntered over, put his arm around Rod's waist, and kissed him passionately on the lips.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a bright warm day in June, and Rod and Nicky were having a walk hand in hand in Central Park. Rod snuggled his head on Nicky's shoulder, and sighed with happiness… Life was so good.  
'I love you...'  
'I know you do Rod… Oh look! PIGEONS!' Nicky cried, as he let go of Rod's hands and ran to chase after them. Rod laughed and sat down on a park bench- that was what he loved about Nicky. His almost childlike optimism that could turn even the crappiest of days into the most fun you have ever had… and the way he was amused by the smallest things. It was just part of what made him so adorable that melted Rod's heart every time he spoke. He frequently told Nicky to _stop_ being so adorable, but they both knew he never meant it. And the way he dressed- so scruffily, his shirt always hanging out of his trousers, and the frayed jeans he wore, it just added to his overall… gorgeousness… wait… what was he doing? Why was he taking his shirt off…….. oh, he looked so hot, even if he did need to lose a little weight. The girl on the bench next to him was ogling Nicky too.. He lent over, tapped her arm and muttered  
'Back of bitch, He's mine!' with a glare. She looked disappointed and flounced off, muttering something about 'All the good ones!' He turned back to look at his gorgeous boyfriend-  
'NICKY, DON'T JUMP IN THE FOUNTAIN, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S BEEN DONE IN THERE!!'

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Nooooo!! DON'T TAKE ME! YOU CAAAN'T!'  
'YES, NICKY, I CAN, AND I AM!! YOU WILL LIKE THIS!'  
Rod shouted, as he was trying to pull Nicky by the arms. Nicky's thighs were wrapped around the lamppost outside the Shubert theatre. He'd just surprised him with tickets to see Spamalot, and Nicky was…. Reluctant to go in, to say the least. Rod tried tugged on Nicky a little harder to get him down, but no such luck- his strength _really_ wasn't his strongest point. Nicky'sscreams were starting to attract some unwanted attention from passers-by, so Rod let go, and stood back. God, Nicky had thighs of STEEL! Nicky let go of the lamppost, and Rod seized his chance. He pounced on Nicky, and stared dragging him into the theatre.  
'You WILL like this, I promise! I wouldn't take you to go see it if I knew you'd hate it!' He said, amidst cries of protest from Nicky. Rod stopped pulling on Nicky for a second to breathe, and Nicky dashed off to hug the post again. Rod was tired of this game now, he was out of breath and just wanted to go in the theatre and watch Spamalot with his boyfriend. He didn't bother to try and drag Nicky, he just waggled his hips in an attempt to be sexy, even though he was far too weedy, and whispered huskily into Nicky's ear.  
'Come on honey, please come and see this…. For me? Please. I promise you'll enjoy it, but if I'm wrong, and you hate it, I'll do that thing tonight that you like.'   
At once, Nicky let go of the post for the second time, linked his arm with Rod's, and started striding towards the theatre, as Rod burst out laughing at Nicky's sudden change of mood.  
'You'd better do that thing Rod, or else you're going to have one VERY upset guy candy on your hands.' Nicky muttered into Rod's ear, as Rod gave the usher their tickets to rip.

Two and a half hours later, they were exiting the theatre, Nicky skipping out in front of Rod, humming part of the overture. He attempted what looked like some sort of tap dance to the song, and promptly fell over his own feet. Rod burst out laughing, and helped him get up off the floor.  
'Oh my GOD Rod? HOW cool was that show? I_** loved**_it! And! And! The girl playing Lady of the Lake… she was SO fucking talented!'  
and before he could reply, Nicky was off, skipping to the stage door, singing Lancelot at the top of his voice. Rod covered his face in his hands… Could Nicky BE any more stereotypical right now? He burst out laughing and ran- for the first time in public since middle school- after Nicky.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh, his head hurt… how much did he DRINK last night? Damn Princeton's birthday party. Stupid Lucy trying to get him drunk…. Rod lay in bed, trying to remember what happened the night before, when his nose smelt breakfast…. Oh, that smelt good. He sat up, his eye's glued shut with that gunk you got in your eyes sometimes- he could never remember what it was actually called. Anyway, his head was that sore, if his eyes opened, it'd really hurt. He slowly stood up, so not to make his head ache more than it already was, and tried to find his clothes, with his eyes shut. After 5 minutes and 6 small knocks to the head, he realised that getting dressed with his eyes closed wasn't the best idea, and there was no way he was going to open them. He grabbed his dressing down from where it was hung up on the back of the door, and stumbled towards the kitchen where something smelt good, if slightly burnt… he wasn't sure what, but it smelt gooooood. OW! Oh. That was the table… Served him right for staying up until half 4 in the morning. Damn that Nicky, though he wasn't HALF sexy when he was… Rod inwardly drooled while he was remembering just what Nicky had done last night… Oh. Wait! Chair! He pulled it out from under the table, and sat down. Okay…. Try to open eyes…. Try. Juust a little. ARGH!! 'NICKY!' He said, as he covered his eyes with his hands. 'MY EYEESS! I think they've just melted. Did you have to open the blinds so it was THAT sunny in here?'  
'And here I was, thinking you were happy that I was only wearing an apron!'  
'Oh Nicky!!' Rod said, as he walked back into his room, trying to find some sunglasses… damn summer. Damn sunlight. 'What're you cooking, anyway? It smells gorgeous!'  
'Well… I wasn't sure what you wanted, so I've cooked eggs, bacon and beans, waffles, pancakes, and I've made some cereal too.'  
'WAFFLES!' Rod screamed, as he ran into the kitchen. He hungrily grabbed the plate, and sat down at the table. 'Oh god… what's the time? I've never been late before.' He said, as he shovelled down a whole waffle in two bites.  
'About 12.' Rod suddenly stood up, half a waffle hanging out of his mouth, his expression a face of pure horror. 'But don't worry, I've already called your work. You're having a day off sick.' Nicky laughed, as Rod's face turned an unattractive shade of green.  
'B-b-b-b-but… I've never had a day off in almost 6 years!' He said, sitting down slowly…  
'Well, it's time you start. I'm turning your phone off, and I've hid your laptop. You're having NOTHING to do with work today. Today is just about us. You and me. Me and you. You and I. I and U. U'n'I. UnI. Uni. It could be a word… Uni. Or is it Inu? Inu and Uni.' Nicky laughed, as Rod just looked confused. 'Can that be our new nicknames for each other? Inu and Uni? Can I be Inu? And you can be Uni…. Anyway… where was I?' Nicky smiled, as he kissed the side of Rod's neck and collar bone, while rubbing his hands on Rod's back, as he gave out as gasp of pleasure.

'Ah yes… that was it.'

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rod sighed, 'Nickkyyyy!!'  
'Whaaat?' He whined back, his nose pressed to the glass.  
'We're **NOT** getting you a pet!' Rod said, as forcefully as he could muster. 'Gary would never allow pets in the building- they're so… messy!'  
Nicky tore his face from the baby tortoises in the window to look at Rod with wide brown eyes, and an adorable pout.  
'That's not going to work Nickyyy!!' He said, turning around, but they both knew it was going to- who could resist those gorgeous wide brown chocolate eyes. He felt Nicky's hand in his pocket, and his voice huskily tickling his ear  
'Please? If you let me get one, I'll let you do that thing that you've always wanted to try tonight.'  
Rod gulped, trying desperately to think unsexy thoughts… WARTS! SQUEEZING SPOTS! COLD SHOWERS! WOMEN! NAKED! …GAAH! QUICK! GRANDMOTHER! NAKED! GAAH! BAD MENTAL PICTURE! AAAH! HE COULD HAVE DONE WITHOUT THAT! AAAH!! He pressed his fingers on his temples trying to rid himself of the mental picture… at least it worked!  
'That might have worked to get you into the theatre, Nicolas Muppetson, but that is not going to work for something as important and life-changing like buying a pet.' He managed say, while still trying to get the mental picture out of his head.  
'Oh but Roooooooooooood!' Nicky pouted, moving back towards the window. 'You know I'll annoy you to death until you get me one!' Unfortunately for Rod… it was true. Nicky was one of the people who could sing the 'I know a song that'll get on your nerves' song over and over again…  
'FIIINE! We'll get you a pet! But only something small, okay?' Rod exasperatedly said. Nicky jumped on the spot and clapped his hands together as he let out a squeal of joy, and then ran to Rod and kissed him on the cheek.  
'Thank you Rooodd!'

Three hours later, they both came out of the shop, Nicky- with a tiny playful male Beagle puppy, which he had called Jack. Rod had initially refused to get a dog, but Nicky pointed out that he _HAD_ said that he could get something small, and Jack was extremely small. And following Nicky and Jack was Rod and a pure white female kitten he had called Judy. He was originally caught between Bette, Liza, Bette, and Patti, but eventually decided on Judy… he couldn't remember why, it just seemed to fit her.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow… 3 years... Who would have thought it? And, as per their routine, their anniversary meal was at Camerinos, the Italian where they had their first date. Rod was in his tux, even thought he probably didn't need it anymore, it had got new management, and it had a bit of a lax in standards, so you could get inside without a tie or flirting with the guy at the door now. Probably just as well, there were cut backs at work, and his salary was taking a heavy toll… But that didn't matter tonight, as he would gladly spend his whole life's savings on Nicky. Anything to make his darling adorable angel happy. He took Nicky by the arm, and led him to their table… the very same one they ate at last year, the year before, and at their first date.  
'Rod! Look!' Nicky exclaimed, browsing the menu. 'They have that pasta thingy you tried to make two weeks ago!' Rod looked down the menu, and sure enough, there it was: Bavettine pasta. He had tried to make it after coming home from work early one day, and it…didn't particularly work. Jack leaped up at the pasta while it was boiling, and very nearly knocked the boiling water all over him, and Rod ended up calling the dog every swear word he could think of… a few of them in multiple languages- In New York, you couldn't help but pick up offensive words in different languages. Nicky had to step in before Rod really lost his temper. Of course, by the time the commotion had died down, the pasta had burnt to the sides of the pan, and now the pan had ruined. He laughed a little at the memory. Looking back in hindsight, it was quite funny. Nicky smiled at the waiter, as he came to take their order.****

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Break a leg Nicky.' He called, from his position on the couch. Nicky walked over to him and kissed him on the forehead.  
'Anything for you.'  
It was weird seeing Nicky in a suit, with his normal messy hair tamed with a comb and hairspray. Then again, it was what had to happen. Rod had got laid off a month ago, and they could hardly pay the rent. He could hardly get out of bed or off the couch, never mind get work. It was like he had all these vampires around his head saying stuff like: 'Your teeth need whitening' 'You went to STATE school?' ' You smell funny!' 'You're WORTHLESS! Who'd want YOU as a employee?' And these 'Vampires'- as Nicky had called them one night, were getting worse, saying nastier and nastier stuff. 'You look like a fool' 'No matter how hard you try, you'll never be good enough.' 'You're a JOKE!'  
It wasn't as though he was crazy and heard voices in his head, but it was the feelings of doubt and worthlessness creeping up from the corners of his brain… One job didn't want him anymore, why would any other job? He would just waste away watching football and getting drunk like his father. He couldn't do anything else… He let out a tear from his eye, which Nicky soon wiped away.  
'Come on Rod… cheer up! I'd kill to be where you are- the TV's great on a Wednesday! And there's a cold beer in the fridge! It's all great, don't cry!' and he wrapped his arm around Rod's waist, hugging him close.. but no matter how much Nicky tried, he couldn't cheer up- if anything, it made him feel worse. He wiggled away from Nicky's grasp, and stood up in a fury,  
'What do you know about it Nicky? I'm used to be the one with the money, who paid for everything, who had a job! And now what am I? The lazy ass one who stays at home and gets drunk? I'M NOT MY FATHER, NICKY! I CAN'T JUST DO THAT! I CAN'T EVEN BRING IN THE MONEY FOR US, WHAT ELSE AM I GOOD FOR? NICKY, I NEED TO BRING IN THE MONEY- AND YOU'RE THERE, TRYING TO MAKE EVERYTHING ENDLESSLY HAPPY, WHEN IT'S NOT! NOT _EVERYTHING_ IS BUTTERFLIES AND ROSES NICKY! DON'T YOU GRASP THAT?'  
There was a flurry of white fur, as Judy ran to the opposite side of the apartment, terrified of Rod.  
Now he couldn't even look after his cat properly. Stupid lazy waste of skin that he was.  
Nicky stood up and faced Rod, his hazel eyes filled with tears, fiddling with the buttons on his jacket.  
'Fine, Rod…. Well… I'm… off.' and he walked out of the door.  
Rod sank back into the couch. Now he was a crappy boyfriend. Great. What more could POSSIBLY go wrong?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One cold day in November, Rod was pottering about in the kitchen, Judy skipping around at his feet, waiting to be fed. This was his life now, looking after the pets, watching the TV… everybody else was at work, so he couldn't even hang out with anybody… Well, everybody bar Trekkie and Brian, but he wasn't going to go up to Trekkie's apartment and get forced to…. He shuddered. He didn't even want to think about what Trekkie would want to do… and after a few months of going out with Brian every day, he was getting sick of:  
'Well, is THIS funny?'  
NO! It wasn't funny! Not at all! Rod put Judy's bowl on the floor, and she licked Rods hand as thanks, and then went to eat. He got out Jack's food and bowl, and started pouring.  
'Jaaack! Food!' He called, as he put the box away. Jack came trotting in from the living room, a piece of paper stuck to his lower lip. Rod picked up the paper, and started to read what it said, to see where it had come from... 'Liza married Peter All..' NO!!  
He ran into the living room, and seen the absolute destruction and chaos that Jack had left behind. His rare special edition signed Liza biography! NOOOOOOO!!   
'YOU!' He shouted, storming back into the kitchen with tears in his eyes, slamming the door so hard behind him that the building shock slightly. 'Out.' He snarled, glaring at the lousy mutt, 'OUT!!' He screamed, when the dog just stood there. He grabbed the dog by the collar and dragged him outside, slamming the door in its face. He grabbed his cell phone from his jeans pocket and furiously jabbed Nicky's work number into the number pad. 'Nicky!' He snarled into the phone as soon as it picked up.  
'What's the matter Rod? What've I done?' Nicky sounded genuinely worried, but Rod just ignored it and went on  
'YOUR. STUPID. DOG. HAS RUINED MY BOOK! MY RARE SPECIAL EDITION SIGNED COPY OF LIZA'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY!'   
Nicky let out an exasperated sigh at the other end of the line 'He's a DOG Rod. What do you expect him to do? That's what dogs do! Come on Rod, calm down. You can buy a new one!'  
Rod shuddered with anger. How DARE Nicky try and side with the DOG? And he couldn't just BUY a new one! It was out of print now, and it was the SPECIAL EDITION! He had to beat off half of the west village to buy this book! It was SIGNED for chrissake! He voiced these to Nicky as calmly as he could, adding that he expected the dog to behave and not rip up his Liza. And for the first time in their three year and ten month long relationship, Nicky actually shouted at Rod.  
'YOUR LIZA? _YOUR_ LIZA? WELL FINE! WHY DON'T YOU JUST GET A BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE AND GO AT IT WITH _YOUR LIZA?_' Nicky shouted down the phone, the last two words laced with malice. Rod was took aback at the sheer force of Nicky's yelling voice… he'd never heard it before… and HE could hardly talk!  
'Invite that guy you were flirting with last night and we _WILL!'_ He yelled back. He WAS going to win this argument! NICKY was in the wrong!  
'I **KNEW** THAT BOTHERED YOU!' Nicky yelled back, triumphantly. 'Jeez Rod! Calm, it was just a bit of harmless flirting!'  
'YOU FILTHY HYPOCRITE! YOU ALWAYS TELL ME OFF IF I EVEN ACCIDENTILY GLANCE AT ANOTHER MAN, BUT YOU CAN FLIRT WITH WHOMEVER YOU WANT? _**FINE!'  
**_Rod slammed the phone down on Nicky, visibly shaking with anger.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nicky took Rod by the arm… wow, 4 years, and they're still together! That was impressive. Before Nicky, he hardly had a relationship that lasted 6 months, never mind 4 years. Of course, those relationships had been with girls before he had come out… so that was probably why they didn't even last 6 months…. He sat down at their table, picked up the menu and started to order. He couldn't afford to pay this year- how could he? He hadn't worked for 6 months- it was Nicky who was bringing home the money now. It felt weird… almost wrong, to not be paying for their anniversary meal.  
'Urgh, I'm so glad that we've managed to do this this year, work is such a DRAG!' Nicky complained, while scouring the menu. Rod sighed and started twirling his fork in his hand to keep him concentrated on something else apart from what Nicky was saying. He hated Nicky complaining about his work- ungrateful, yet adorable, bastard. Oooh, that pasta looked nice! 'I mean, it just gets _SO_ repetitive! Doing the same thing EVERY day!' Rod placed the fork down and sighed. If he didn't know Nicky better, he would think he was doing it to purposely hurt Rod. But his angel wouldn't purposely do anything like that. Don't get angry with him Rod… calm. Count to 10.  
1….2…3….4…5…6…7…8.. 'I mean, I wouldn't mind it if I was doing something interesting!'  
Calm. Breathe. Say it nicely. 'Listen Nicky, I don't like it when you complain about work- you know I really miss my work, and it makes me think you're so ungrateful whenever you do complain.'  
Nicky glanced over his menu to look Rod in the eyes.  
'Rod, it's not my fault if you can't get another job- and it's not as though you try. And you've been like this for 6 months now. I'm sick of it- get a hold of yourself man! Where's the successful accomplished businessman that I first met 4 years ago? And you take it out on me whenever you get depressed about it- don't say you don't, because you do.'  
Rod quickly looked back at his menu: he couldn't look Nicky in the face. ****

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stupid lousy mutt. Rod kicked a can as he was walking. He was so warm and cozy at home, but then the stupid dog had to go and stupidly run away for some stupid reason, because Nicky had stupidly left the door open overnight. He was just thankful that nobody had decided to rob them. But now Nicky had forced him to go out and look for the lousy dog- even though they'd never liked each other, Jack and him. He stopped a passer by, a red headed teenage girl, asked if she'd seen the dog, and shown her a picture of him, Nicky, Judy and Jack, that Gary had took one time. He couldn't remember why they had told Gary to take it, but he was glad they did, no matter what the reason. It must have been taken a while ago, because they looked blissfully happy, and Rod was in his old suit. Rod sighed. Where did it go wrong?  
The girl shook her head- she hadn't seen Jack. He mumbled his gratitude. He carried on walking, thinking about the past relationship with him and Nicky. Where _DID _it go wrong? Rod carried on walking, debating with himself in his head for three blocks about how he'd got to call his darling angel an ungrateful bastard, and purposefully picking arguments with each other, occasionally asking the rare passer by if they had seen Jack. Nobody had. He was just passing the 11th street lot when he heard an all too familiar bark coming from the lot. He spun on his heel and ran back to whereabouts he heard the bark.  
'Here Jack!' He called, hoping to god that it was Jack, and not some rabid wolf creature thing that would eat him if it got too close- you could never know for sure in New York… 'Herrreee Jack!' he said, inching a little closer to where movement seemed to be coming. Then suddenly, the great big lumbering creature came running up to Rod and knocked him to the ground. 'Get off me, you great big brute!' He cried, as Jack licked his face. He managed to push Jack off his face for long enough to stand up. 'Come here you!' He laughed; as Jack bounced up at him, tail wagging. He slipped his lead around Jack's, thankfully, still intact collar. He'd never had this much fun with Jack, ever; laughing when he did stupid things, like run into puddles and freak out when he was wet, and skipping around Rod, joyful to see him.  
It reminded him of the first couple of years with Nicky, laughing at everything and just enjoying the time as _now_, and not worrying about the future. He wanted that back with Nicky. He wanted the times where Nicky would constantly have a grin on his face, and turn everything positive. He could tell that their relationship was falling apart- anyone could. Christmas Eve had even offered couple counselling, but they had refused. But he was going to make this work. He was going to stop arguing with Nicky, he was going to make Nicky's favourite food tonight, and he was going to make Nicky have a constant smile on his face again. He was going to make this relationship be right.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The clock read 23:32, and Rod was pacing up and down the apartment… Even though Nicky had said he wouldn't be home until at least 12, because of some work party or something, he still worried. Was he okay? Was didn't he text him, letting Rod know he was okay, and not lying bleeding at the side of some road? He should stop worrying so much, he knew that. Nicky repeatedly told him every time he came home; He laughed, kissed Rod on the forehead, told him he was a big worrier and told him to sleep.  
If he was honest with himself, he suppose that he was a bit jealous of Nicky- he had to go to all these parties and stuff now, _'to socialise with his betters'_ Nicky had said, _'to get me on the list of possible promotions.'_ And here Rod was, stuck at home with nothing to do but worry… Though, he supposed his worries were well founded- Nicky had been distant recently. For about a month now- they hardly talked, and if they did had a conversation, Nicky usually grunted as a reply-staring catatonic out the window, and then went into a different room. Rod supposed it was stress or something- but surely he hadn't been like that when he worked? Surely he was cheerful and happy-and always made time for Nicky… maybe that was just the way he remembered. But, still… Nicky was starting to go away on courses or something – Nicky never was very good at explaining things- for weekends at a time, and Rod couldn't help but wonder sometimes, if Nicky was getting chatted up by some guy at that precise moment- He was getting ridiculously good looking now he had lost some of that flab. But he shook those thoughts away, knowing that Nicky would never do anything like that, and inwardly laughing at the memory of about 2 years ago, when Nicky was slapping thin air around Rod's head, trying to get rid of the 'Gnat vampires'

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Why the hell did we still go here? _Rod thought, as he stepped into Camerinos. It had changed management for the third time now, and it was a sham of what it used to be. It was cheap, tacky and most probably had a rat infestation somewhere. He stepped into the restaurant, and looked around for where Nicky was already sat. Nicky had called him from his new phone and told him to meet him here. It felt weird, coming into the restaurant on his own, without Nicky there beside him… then again, he hadn't had Nicky there beside him for a while now… He'd been so distant for about 4 months now, hardly talking to Rod, and staying at work until all hours of the morning..  
He sat down at the table where Nicky was already sat, and picked up his menu to order.  
'Rod… wait.' Nicky said, his face looking at the table.  
'What's up Nicky?' Rod said, curiously. Even though Nicky had been at work so much recently, and when he came home, all they seemed to do was ignore each other or argue, but he still loved him, no matter how much they argued, or how paranoid he got.  
'Don't make this harder for me Rod.' Nicky muttered, still looking at the table. 'Just… listen.'  
Rod scrunched his face up in curiosity, and leaned forward to hear what Nicky was saying. 'I promise this was a one time thing, and I didn't mean for it to happen. Don't be mad…… but I slept with someone else…. and she's pregnant.'

……………………………………………………………………………………

Kate knocked on Rod's door. Nobody had seen him for a week and a half, and in his current state, that was extremely bad. Luckily, she knew where the spare key was, buried in the plant pot that was near the door. She called his name again… no answer. 'Rod?' She cried, as she unlocked the door 'It's me.' God, the place was a mess…. And it stunk! 'Rod?' she called again, as she walked into the kitchen, trying not to step on any of the week old pizza boxes that we littered on the floor. He'd obviously not tidied up for a long while…a month or two maybe… since, well, Nicky left him. 'Rod?' she called, a little louder this time..  
'LEAVE ME ALONE!' shouted Rod, from his bedroom.  
Kate stopped where she was, turned around and walked to his bedroom door, went to open it, but decided against it, so sat down, her back against the door instead, letting Rod have his privacy.  
'Rod? It's Kate. Listen, we're worried about you…'  
She heard a sob, but decided to carry on. 'I know what you must feel like, trust me, I know more than most… Do you remember Peter? And Myles? Even Princeton, when we were first dating… they all cheated on me with some young hot blonde babe…. And, okay, we weren't dating for 5 years, but you know I'm here for you…. We all are. We're all here for you, so as soon as you're ready, come out of your room, okay?'  
She stood up to leave, but then she heard crisp packets crunching, a sniff, and then the scrape of a key against a lock, and the door opened. The smell coming from the room was horrendous- rotting food that had been left for weeks, sweaty dirty clothes left to moulder, and spilt off milk, but the worst thing that smelt was Rod himself. Sweat, lots of alcohol, tears, rotting food that had got caught in his bristle, as he hadn't shaved, really didn't smell the nicest He was clearly drunk, only in his pajama bottoms, he had food stuck in his hair, red puffy eyes from tears.  
'Oh, what's he done to you Rod?' Kate said, choking back tears at the sight of her best friend looking such a wreck… 'Come here.' And she embraced him, as he burst into yet another bout of blubbering tears.

****

If you review, I'll love you forever… and you'll get chocolate and/or cookies and/or muffins.


End file.
